There’s a lot to admire about Burnley, they’ve built themselves up through steady investment in the squad without ever going overboard. There are a couple of areas they’re a little weak in though and they were unfortunate to be hit in probably the most crucial of those last weekend when Tom Heaton was forced off.
Burnley don’t have a lot of depth in the goalkeeper position, their second keeper Nick Pope only has just over 100 appearances to his name and many of those were while he was out on loan in the lower divisions. Their third choice keeper, Adam Legzdins, has another 50 or so appearances to his name but has never established himself as a long-term first choice at any of his 12 clubs.
Liverpool, of course, have an issue at the other end of the pitch. The sending off of Sadio Mané, while completely justified, completely wrecked their set-up and left them extremely disjointed. They need Philippe Coutinho back more than ever at this point and I suspect he will start this game as Adam Lallana and Danny Ings are still out injured.
In betting terms this is quite a difficult game to call. Liverpool still have flair in attack and a very good midfield. Burnley are suddenly weak in goal but have looked very sturdy this season and if they can restrict Liverpool to long range chances, then they stand a good chance.
Personally, I think damage limitation is going to be the order of the day here and that gives us a couple of options. The first is under 2.5 goals and at odds of 2.54 with Pinnacle and other green listed bookmakers, that one appeals very much indeed. The second one is for the first half to end in a draw, with Liverpool having played in Europe midweek and needing to regroup after the Mané sending off, this one looks like an interesting option, certainly when you bear in mind Burnley will be looking to keep Liverpool at arms length. You can get that one at 2.7 with BetVictor and, of the two options, that’s the one that has got my interest right now.
There’s plenty in this match to keep things interesting and I’m sure fans of both sides will be nervously looking forward to it. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Liverpool come out the winners but Burnley have upset the odds before and so I’m wary of backing any side in the outright markets. The closest I’ll go is in the Asian Handicap market where Burnley +1 is something I may go for at 3.18 with Pinnacle.
Calculators
